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E  LODGE 

/Vddress  Commemorative 
e  Life  and  Services  of 
George  D.  Robinson. 


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I  COLLEOB 
1775  — APRIL    NINETEENTH -1 896    \oUPUCATE' 


^  v^  An  Address  Commemorative  of  Ine 
Life  and  Services  of  George  D*  Robinson, 
Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  1884-86, 
by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge 


Proceedings  at  the  Hancock  Church  in  Lex- 
ington on  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
first  Anniversary  of  the  Battle 


[Published   bv   the  Town] 


BOSTON 

Geo.  H.  Ei.lis,  Printer,  141   Franklin  Street 

1896 


1775  — APRIL   NINETEENTH  — J  896 


^  ^  An  Address  Commemorative  of  the 
Life  and  Services  of  George  D*  Robinson^ 
Governor  of  the  Commonwealth^  1884-86^ 
by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge 


Proceedings  at  the  Hancock  Church  in  Lex- 
ington on  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
first  Anniversary  of  the  Battle 


[Published  bv  the  Town] 


BOSTON 

Geo.  H.  Ellis,  Printer,  141  Franklin  Street 

1896 


COMMITTEE    FOR    1896    ON    THE    OBSERVANCE    OF   THE 
NINETEENTH   OF   APRIL. 


Herbert  G.  Locke,  Chairman. 
George  E.  Muzzey. 
Dr.  X.  H.  Merriam. 
George  O.  Smith. 
Frank  C.  Childs. 


Rev.  J.  B.  Werner,  Secretary. 
George  O.  Davis. 
Edward  T.  Harrington. 
George  S.  Jackson. 
Robert  P.  Clapp. 


Mary  Hudson. 

Mrs.  Frank  C.  Childs. 

Mrs.  Lucy  AL  Whiting. 

Mrs.  Edward  T.  Harrington. 

Mrs.  John  H.  Willard. 


[The  observance  of  the  anniversary  was  marked  also  by  various  proceedings 
on  Monday,  April  20,  the  exercises  recorded  in  these  pages  being  held  on 
Sunday,  April  19.] 


ORDER   OF   EXERCISES 

AT  THE    HANCOCK  CHURCH,  LEXINGTON,  ON  APRIL   19,  I896,  THE  12tST 
ANNIVERSARY   OF  THE   BATTLE   OF   LEXINGTON. 


1.  VOLUNTARY Mr.  Howard  M.  Dow 

2.  ANTHEM.     "  Heavenly  Father," 

Herbert  Johnson's  Quintette  Club  and  Mr.  J.  L.  White. 

3.  PRAYER Rev.  Carlton  A.  Staples 

4.  SOLO.    "  Rock  of  Ages," Mr.  Herbert  Johnson 

5.  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME Mr.  Robert  P.  Clapp 

Pres't  of  Le.\ington  Hist'l  Soc'y 

6.  QUINTETTE.     "  Lift  thine  Eyes," Qulntette  Club 

7.  ADDRESS Hon.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge 

8.  QUINTETTE.     "  I'm  a  Pilgrim," Quintette  Club 

9.  HYMN.     "America," Congregation 

10.     BENEDICTION. 


ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 


Before  introducing  Mr.  Lodge  to  deliver  the  address  in 
special  commemoration  of  Governor  Robinson,  a  son  of  Lex- 
ington, Mr.  Clapp  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

Felloiv-citizens,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, —  As  President  of 
the  Society  under  whose  auspices  the  annual  observance  of 
this  day  by  the  town  is  directed,  it  is  my  pleasant  duty  to 
invite  you  to  review  once  more  the  lessons  in  loyalty  and 
unselfish  devotion  to  country  which  the  Nineteenth  of  April 
teaches,  and  to  thank  the  distinguished  guests  here  to-day  for 
the  honor  of  their  presence. 

The  wealth  of  historical  treasure  with  which  Lexington  is 
endowed,  though  held  dearest  by  her  citizens  themselves,  is 
the  glory  and  inspiration  of  Massachusetts  as  well, —  yes,  of 
our  whole  country.  And  so  it  is  fitting  that  the  acting  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Commonwealth,  and  a  Senator  from  Massachu- 
setts prominent  in  the  counsels  of  the  nation,  should  be  here 
gratefully  to  lay  a  tribute  of  respect  on  the  graves  of  the 
patriots  of  1775,  and  to  reverence  a  conspicuous  example  of 
manhood  which  the  fruits  of  their  services  have  given  to  the 
generation  of  to-day. 

To  our  guests  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that  in  coming  to 
pay  their  homage  at  Liberty's  shrine  they  follow  in  the  foot- 
steps of  distinguished  predecessors.     There  are  yet  living  in 


this  community  those  who  saw  escorted  to  the  Common,  be- 
neath an  arch  of  evergreen  erected  by  the  townspeople  as  a 
symbol  of  his  memory,  that  devoted  friend  of  America,  the 
liberty-loving  Lafayette.  In  1852  Jonathan  Harrington,  two 
years  before  he  died  as  the  last  survivor  of  the  battle,  standing 
at  the  age  of  ninety-three  upon  the  historic  spot,  received, 
warm. with  the  pulses  of  patriotic  fervor,  the  hand  of  Louis 
Kossuth,  Passing  in  front  of  this  church,  you  will  observe  on 
the  site  of  the  old  meeting-house  at  the  end  of  the  Common 
a  shapely  elm,  which  was  planted  twenty-one  years  ago  to-day 
by  General  Grant.  And,  reverting  to  an  earlier  event  which 
adds  to  the  memories  of  the  day,  we  recall  April  19,  fifty-one 
years  ago,  when  the  bones  of  the  eight  martyr  patriots,  whose 
blood  first  consecrated  the  soil,  were  removed  with  impressive 
ceremonial  to  their  present  resting-place  on  the  Common. 
Upon  that  occasion  the  scholarly  and  finished  Everett,  silver- 
tongued  and  impassioned,  was  the  orator  of  the  day.  But,  sir 
[to  Mr,  Lodge],  while  we  remind  you  that  he  is  a  predecessor 
in  title  to  the  position  you  occupy  here  to-day,  we  feel  sure 
that  you  will  hold  to  the  same  high  standard  of  eloquence, 
and  stir  within  us  the  same  elevated  strain  of  patriotism.  He 
sang  of  arms  and  the  men  who  bore  them  ;  but  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  man  whose  career,  honoring  his  native  town  and 
promoting  the  welfare  of  the  State,  illustrated  the  results  of 
their  work,  you  have  a  no  less  worthy  theme  of  song. 

We  cherish  with  loving  pride  the  Nineteenth  of  April,  not 
because  of  any  prominence  which  the  annual  observance  at- 
tracts to  Lexington  as  a  town,  but  because  we  recognize  the 
importance  of  the  occasion  as  a  factor  in  the  enriching  of  life 
and  character.  Stevenson,  writing  of  the  great  English  ad- 
mirals, says,  "These  stories  of  her  sea  captains,  printed,  so  to 
speak,  in  capitals,  and  full  of  moral  influence,  are  more  valu- 


able  to  England  than  any  material  benefit  in  all  the  books  of 
political  economy  between  Westminster  and  Birmingham."  So 
we  hold  that  the  stories  of  Lexington,  Concord,  Valley  Forge, 
and  Saratoga,  of  "  Old  Ironsides,"  of  Gettysburg,  and  Chicka- 
mauga,  are  worth  more  to  the  United  States  than  the  products 
of  her  mines  or  the  fruits  of  her  inventions  ;  for  in  them  are 
found  the  influences  that  make  for  honor  and  manhood. 

Parker's  band  of  fifty  undisciplined  men,  standing  almost  in 
mock  defiance  before  a  body  of  eight  hundred  tried  veterans, 
and  returning  the  fire  of  the  king's  troops,  presents  no  pleasing 
sight,  so  foolhardy  seems  the  act.  But  the  fire  returned,  the 
patriots  dead,  and  we  behold  an  eloquent  performance.  Its 
memory  serves  a  useful  purpose,  not  only  to  those  whose  pro- 
fession it  is  to  bear  arms  in  the  country's  service,  but  to  the 
humblest  individual  in  civil  life.  All  men  are  idealists  at 
heart ;  and  the  patient  toil  and  suffering  which  the  fathers 
endured,  the  heroic  deeds  which  they  performed,  touch  in  us 
a  vein  of  the  poetic.  We  love  to  recall  the  examples  of  their 
lives ;  for  they  send  us  back  to  our  daily  toil  with  good  cheer, 
and  even  inspire  a  hope  that  in  some  manner  we  may  become 
heroes  also. 

While  we  stand  ready  to  respond,  with  arms  if  need  be,  to 
the  calls  which  the  country's  honor  may  make  upon  us,  let  us 
hope  that  the  national  character  may  never  need  to  be  toned 
and  invigorated  by  the  chastening  influences  which  accom- 
pany the  awful  brutalities  of  war,  but  that  it  may  be  preserved 
and  strengthened  by  the  inspiring  lessons  with  which  Amer- 
ican history  is  illumined. 

It  was  your  singular  good  fortune,  fellow-citizens,  two  years 
ago  to-day,  to  hear  from  this  very  platform  the  voices  of  two 
men  of  Massachusetts, —  George  D.  Robinson  and  Frederick 
T.  Greenhalge, —  now  passed  beyond,  whose  useful  lives  and 


8 

services  are  appropriately  made  the  subject  of  commemorative 
addresses  in  connection  with  this  Patriots'  Day.  They  found 
in  the  manifold  problems  of  civil  life  opportunities  to  establish 
high  ideals  of  service,  to  exhibit  the  enduring  virtues  of  inde- 
pendence and  courage,  and  to  exemplify  those  lines  of  Lowell : 

"  Life  may  be  given  in  many  ways, 
And  loyalty  to  truth  be  sealed 
As  bravely  in  the  closet  as  the  field, 
So  bountiful  is  fate." 


A'\R.  LODGE'S  ADDRESS. 


Yesterday  we  had  a  memorial  service  in  Boston  for 
our  Governor,  who  had  died  in  office.  To-day  we  meet 
to  do  Hke  honor  to  one  of  his  near  predecessors.  The 
quick  succession  of  these  solemn  observances  is  a  sad 
reminder  of  the  loss  which  has  within  a  few  months 
befallen  the  Commonwealth  in  the  sudden  death  of 
two  of  her  most  trusted  and  eminent  public  men.  Both 
deserved  well  of  the  Republic,  both  had  done  the  State 
high  service,  both  had  lived  lives  and  shown  qualities 
which  were  an  honor  to  Massachusetts. 

He  whose  memory  we  would  recall,  and  whose  life  and 
deeds  we  would  praise  here  to-day,  had  withdrawn  him- 
self some  years  ago  from  the  public  career  in  which  he 
had  played  such  a  distinguished  part.  He  had  returned 
to  the  active  and  successful  pursuit  of  his  profession, 
where  he  held  a  deservedly  high  position.  He  was 
cut  down  suddenly  in  the  fulness  of  his  strength,  both 
of  body  and  mind;  and  the  news  of  his  death  brought 
deep  sorrow  to  all  the  people  of  the  State.  His  loss 
was  as  keenly  felt  as  if  he  had  still  held  office ;  for, 
although  he  had  retired  from  public  life,  the  services 
he  had  rendered,  his  high  reputation,  and  his  strong 
character  made  him  in  any  sphere  or  in  any  field  of 
human  activity  a  potent  influence  and  a  pillar  of 
strength  to  the  community  in  which  he  lived. 


lO 

There  is  a  peculiar  fitness  in  coming  here  on  this 
day  to  honor  his  memory.  Not  only  is  this  the  town 
of  his  birth,  but  it  is  a  famous  and  historic  spot. 
Lexington  is  a  name  known  to  all  Americans.  When 
we  tell  the  story  of  the  long,  brave  struggle  which 
made  us  an  independent  nation,  we  begin  it  here 
where  the  minute-men  faced  the  soldiers  of  England 
for  the  first  time  in  arms.  With  it  are  entwined  all 
the  memories  of  the  Revolution.  It  was  to  Lexing- 
ton and  Concord  and  Bunker  Hill  that  Daniel 
Webster  pointed  first  when  he  numbered  the  glories 
of  Massachusetts.  Here  the  memories  dearest  to 
our  hearts  awaken,  and  they  are  all  American. 
They  speak  of  American  liberty,  American  courage, 
American  union  and  independence.  There  is  no  jar- 
ring note  anywhere.  Hence  the  peculiar  fitness  of 
which  I  have  spoken  in  our  coming  here  to  com- 
memorate the  life  and  services  of  Governor  Robinson; 
for  he  was  not  only  a  distinguished  man,  but  he  was 
a  typical  one. 

He  was  a  true  son  of  the  soil,  an  American,  a  New 
Englander.  Here  the  Puritans  settled,  here  they  lived 
for  generations,  here  their  descendants  fought  the  first 
fight  of  the  Revolution ;  and  here,  if  anywhere,  in  this 
historic  American  town  we  can  learn  from  the  life  of 
one  of  its  children  what  the  result  has  been  of  the 
beliefs,  the  strivings,  the  traditions,  of  the  people  who 
founded  and  built  up  New  England,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  centuries  have  pushed  their  way  across  the  con- 
tinent.    In  the  career  and   the  character  of    Governor 


II 


Robinson  we  have  an  open  book,  where  we  can  read 
a  story  which  will  tell  us  what  kind  of  man  the  civili- 
zation of  the  English  Puritans  has  been  able  to  pro- 
duce in  this  nineteenth  century,  after  so  many  years 
of  growth  and  battle  in  the  New  World.  Has  the 
result  been  worthy  of  the  effort  and  the  struggle? 
Has  the  race  advanced  and  grown  stronger  here  under 
new  influences  in  its  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of 
American  existence,  or  has  it  faltered,  failed,  and  de- 
clined ?  These  are  questions  of  deep  moment  to  us, 
children  of  New  England  and  Massachusetts.  Let  us 
turn  to  the  life  of  the  man  whose  memory  brings 
us  here  to-day,  and  find  the  answer  there. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  the  Puritan  settlements  w^as 
at  Cambridge;  and  there  a  town  sprang  up  with  its 
church  and  school-house,  and  in  a  short  time  with  the 
little  college  which  has  grown  since  to  the  great 
university  we  know  to-day.  As  the  years  went  by, 
more  and  more  land  was  taken  up;  and  a  new  settle- 
ment was  formed  to  the  north  of  the  college  town, 
and  known  as  Cambridge  Farms.  Thither  about  1706 
came  Jonathan  Robinson  with  his  young  wife,  Ruth. 
He  was  born  in  1682,  the  son  of  William  Robinson, 
of  Cambridge,  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  and  moved  from 
his  birthplace  that  he  might  get  a  farm  and  establish 
a  home  for  his  family.  He  became  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  little  settlement,  was  chosen  a  tythingman  in 
1735,  and  in  1744  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed 
to  "  dignify  and  seat  ye  meeting-house,"  an  important 
social  function  in  the  early  days  of  New  England. 


12 

He  had  six  children.  The  eldest,  Jonathan,  born 
in  1707,  married  in  his  turn,  and  had  a  son  named 
Jacob,  born  in  1739.  His  son,  also  named  Jacob,  the 
great-grandson  of  the  Cambridge  weaver,  was  born  in 
1762.  He  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  was  in  his  turn 
a  leader  in  the  town,  being  selectman  in  1805  and 
1806,  and  for  several  years  assessor.  He  had  nine 
children,  among  them  Hannah,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Charles  Tufts,  the  founder  of  Tufts  College,  and 
Charles,  who  was  the  father  of  George  D.  Robinson, 
the  future  governor,  born  Jan.  20,  1834.  The  mother 
of  Governor  Robinson  was  Mary  Davis,  of  Concord, 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Dolor  Davis,  one  of  the  earliest 
of  the  Plymouth  settlers,  and  the  ancestor  of  three 
Massachusetts  Governors.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  Robin- 
son was  the  daughter  of  Joseph  Hosmer,  who  acted 
as  adjutant  in  the  fight  at  Concord  Bridge. 

I  have  traced  this  pedigree  in  some  detail,  not  be- 
cause it  is  remarkable,  but  because  it  is  typical.  It  is 
characteristic  of  New  England,  and  represents  the 
rank  and  file  —  the  yeomanry  of  Massachusetts  —  who 
have  made  the  State  and  done  so  much  to  build  the 
nation.  How  plainly  they  come  before  us, —  these 
men  and  women  of  the  unmixed  Puritan  stock !  They 
were  a  simple,  hard-working  folk,  tilling  the  ground, 
weaving  their  linen,  bringing  up  their  children  in 
the  fear  of  God,  governing  themselves,  filling  in  their 
turn  the  town  offices ;  while  they  never  lost  their  hold 
on  higher  things,  respecting  and  seeking  education, 
deeply  religious,  and   with   an    abiding   love   of   home 


13 

and  country.  One  of  the  Robinson  name  was  in  Cap- 
tain Parker's  company  on  the  19th  of  April  at  Lexing- 
ton, and  on  the  mother's  side  we  find  one  of  the  officers 
at  Concord.  These  Puritans  came  here  to  hear  a  ser- 
mon after  their  own  fashion.  They  were  stern  and 
often  intolerant,  but  always  strong,  determined  men. 
As  the  generations  passed,  each  doing  its  simple  duty 
in  thorough  manner,  the  Puritan  severity  softened  and 
mellowed ;  but  the  great  qualities  of  the  race  remained 
unchanged,  and  never  failed  in  war  or  peace. 

From  such  ancestry  did  George  Robinson  come,  and 
such  were  the  traditions  he  inherited.  His  father  was 
a  farmer,  a  man  respected  in  the  town,  of  which  he 
was  many  times  selectman.  The  boy  was  brought 
up  to  the  hard  but  vigorous  life  of  a  New  England 
country  town.  His  father's  farm  lay  some  two  miles 
to  the  north  of  Lexington,  in  what  was  then  a  some- 
what secluded  spot.  Here  the  boy  soon  began  to 
bear  his  share  of  the  responsibilities,  and  help  in  the 
support  of  the  family.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  hard 
work  on  the  farm,  few  leisure  hours,  not  many  books 
to  read,  and,  as  the  nearest  neighbor  was  nearly  half 
a  mile  away,  not  much  society.  But  among  the  New 
Englanders,  as  among  the  lowland  Scotch,  the  two 
branches  of  the  English-speaking  race  which  have  per- 
haps contended  with  harder  conditions  than  any  others, 
there  was  an  ardent  love  of  learning  and  a  belief  in 
the  power  and  the  value  of  education,  for  which  no 
sacrifice  was  deemed  too  great. 

So,  while  George  Robinson  helped  his  father  on  the 


14 

farm,  he  managed  to  attend  the  district  school  for  three 
or  four  months  in  the  year.  He  did  well  at  school, 
and  one  who  knew  him  all  his  life  says  of  him : 
"  What  he  was  as  a  man,  he  was  as  a  boy, —  truthful, 
sincere,  kind,  and  clean, —  a  boy  whom  every  one  re- 
spected and  esteemed,  making  friends  wherever  he 
went."  The  means  at  the  command  of  his  family  were 
so  slender  that  he  put  aside  the  idea  of  ever  getting  to 
college ;  but,  toward  the  close  of  his  career  in  the  more 
advanced  schools,  his  teachers,  who  had  a  high  opinion 
of  his  capacity,  persuaded  him  to  take  the  Harvard 
examinations.  He  passed  successfully,  and  entered 
college  in  1852.  It  w^as  a  hard  struggle,  and  required 
many  sacrifices.  He  went  back  and  forth  every  day 
from  his  home  in  Lexington  to  his  recitations  in  Cam- 
bridge.  He  lived  on  a  pittance,  earned  money  by 
teaching  school,  and  by  his  rigid  economy  and  self- 
denial  completed  his  college  course,  and  was  graduated 
with  his  class  in  1856.  He  took  good  rank  at  Harvard, 
graduating  high  enough  to  win  a  place  in  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa.  He  was  popular  in  his  class,  and  a  member 
of  several  societies.  One  of  his  classmates,  Judge 
Smith,  says  of  him :  "  Whatever  he  undertook,  he  did 
well  and  so  thoroughly  that  he  did  not  have  to  go  over 
it  a  second  time.  I  should  say  that  he  never  hurried, 
and  yet  was  always  upon  time.  I  do  not  believe  he 
ever  lost  any  time  or  strength  in  worrying.  He  did  his 
best,  and  then  calmly  awaited  results." 

Thus  he  found  himself   face  to  face  with  the  world 
at  the   age  of   twenty-two,  with  no  capital  except  his 


15 

education,  his  good  brains,  and  his  determined  will. 
His  plan  at  that  time  seems  to  have  been  to  study 
medicine ;  but,  for  immediate  support,  he  took  to  teach- 
ing, obtaining  a  position  as  principal  of  the  Chicopee 
High  School,  where  he  remained  for  nine  years.  Dur- 
ing this  period  he  seems  to  have  kept  up  his  studies 
of  medicine.  Meantime,  on  Nov.  24,  1859,  he  had 
married;  but  in  1864  his  wife  died,  and  he  soon  after 
returned  to  his  father's  house,  bringing  with  him  his 
only  child,  a  boy  of  four  years.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  he  changed  his  plans,  and  began  the  serious  study 
of  the  law  in  the  office  of  his  brother.  In  1866  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  ten  years  after  his  graduation. 
He  was  thirty-two  years  of  age,  and  had  come  very 
late  to  the  opening  of  his  professional  career.  Once 
started,  however,  he  made  rapid  progress.  He  returned 
to  Chicopee,  and  opened  an  office  in  Cabot  Hall  Block 
on  Market  Square,  a  place  which  he  retained  until 
his  comparatively  recent  removal  to  Springfield.  The 
thoroughness  and  painstaking  care  with  w^iich  he 
prepared  his  cases  soon  brought  him  a  lucrative  prac- 
tice in  a  community  where  he  was  already  so  well 
known  and  so  favorably  regarded.  Soon  after  he  had 
established  himself  in  his  profession,  on  July  11,  1867, 
he  again  married,  his  second  wife  being  the  daughter 
of  Joseph  F.  Simonds,  of  Lexington. 

He  had  always  taken  an  interest  in  all  public  ques- 
tions ;  but,  as  he  had  been  late  in  coming  to  the  bar, 
so  he  was  slow  in  engaging  in  active  politics.  His 
public    career   began    with    his    election    to    the    lower 


i6 

branch  of  the  legislature  from  Chicopee  in  the  fall  of 
1874.  He  was  at  that  time  forty  years  of  age,  and 
accepted  the  ofhce  with  genuine  reluctance.  In  his 
one  year  of  service  in  the  House  he  was  placed  on 
the  Judiciary  Committee,  serving  side  by  side  on  that 
committee  with  Richard  Olney,  Chief  Justice  Mason 
of  the  Superior  Court,  the  late  William  W.  Rice,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  and  Congressman  William  S.  Knox. 
The  next  year  he  went  to  the  State  Senate,  where 
he  served  one  term  as  in  the  lower  branch.  During 
his  two  years  of  experience  in  the  State  legislature 
he  quickly  took  high  rank  as  a  debater,  and  showed 
qualifications  for  public  life  which  marked  him  for 
higher  honors.  They  were  not  long  in  coming.  In 
the  fall  of  1876  he  was  nominated  as  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Congress  in  the  old  Eleventh  District,  so 
long  and  ably  represented  by  Henry  L.  Dawes,  which 
two  years  before  had  been  carried  by  Chester  W. 
Chapin,  the  Democratic  nominee,  by  a  plurality  of 
nearly  6,000.  Mr.  Robinson  took  the  stump  at  once, 
and  after  a  vigorous  struggle  overcame  the  large  ad- 
verse majority,  and  was  elected  to  the  Forty-fifth  Con- 
gress by  a  plurality  of  2,162.  He  was  successively 
re-elected,  without  serious  opposition,  to  the  Forty- 
sixth,  Forty-seventh,  and  Forty-eighth  Congresses.  He 
brought  to  his  new  duties  in  Congress  the  trained 
habits  of  a  student  of  political  affairs,  boldness  in  de- 
bate, ingenuity,  resource,  and  a  power  of  forcible  and 
lucid  statement,  which  soon  commanded  the  attention 
of   the   House.     Before  the  expiration  of  his  first  ses- 


17 

sion  his  close  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  position 
both  in  the  committee  room  and  on  the  floor  of  the 
House  made  the  late  speaker  Randall,  a  good  judge 
of  men,  predict  a  distinguished  future  for  the  new 
member  from  Massachusetts.  During  his  Congres- 
sional service  he  was  given  various  important  com- 
mittee assignments,  including  places  on  the  Judiciary 
Committee  and  on  the  Committee  upon  the  Improve- 
ment of  the  Mississippi  River.  Mr.  Robinson  was 
regular  in  attendance  upon  the  sessions  of  the  House, 
and  devoted  his  whole  strength  to  the  public  business. 
During  the  second  session  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress 
he  began  to  participate  actively  in  the  Congressional 
debates.  As  a  debater,  he  was  distinguished  by  in- 
cisiveness  of  speech  and  precision  of  statement, —  qual- 
ities which  made  him  a  formidable  antagonist.  His 
familiarity  with  the  rules  also  made  him  an  authority 
in  questions  of  parliamentary  procedure,  and  he  was 
frequently  called  to  preside  over  a  Democratic  House. 
In  the  fall  of  1882  Mr.  Robinson  was  elected  for  a 
fourth  term,  this  time  as  the  representative  from  the 
then  new  Twelfth  District.  His  place  in  Congress  was 
now  an  influential  one ;  and  he  had  come  to  be  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  New  England  dele- 
gation and  one  of  the  strong  men  of  the  House.  Back 
of  him  was  a  united  and  admiring  constituency.  His 
Congressional  career  seemed  likely  to  be  a  long  and 
eminent  one ;  but  it  was  suddenly  terminated  by  the 
unanimous  demand  of  his  party  to  lead  them  in  the 
fiercest  campaign  they  had  ever  been  called  upon  to 
make  for  victorv  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts. 


i8 

In  1882  General  Butler,  supported  by  the  whole 
Democratic  party,  and  by  a  considerable  number  of 
Republicans,  who  constituted  his  personal  following, 
had  carried  the  State,  and  been  elected  Governor.  His 
administration,  by  the  course  he  chose  to  follow,  had 
aroused  deep  resentments,  and  to  the  intense  desire 
of  the  Republicans  to  regain  the  State  as  a  party  was 
added  a  great  deal  of  personal  bitterness. 

The  Republican  organization  therefore  began  its 
work  early,  for  there  was  much  to  do.  But  the  all- 
important  point  to  be  decided  was  who  should  be  the 
candidate  to  lead  the  fight  against  General  Butler.  It 
was  neither  an  easy  nor  an  inviting  task,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  victory  was  anything  but  certain. 

It  was  my  fortune  to  be  at  that  time  chairman  of  the 
Republican  State  Committee,  and  in  charge  of  the  cam- 
paign. I  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  Governor 
Robinson,  and  knew  him  only  by  reputation  as  a  distin- 
guished and  leading  member  of  Congress.  It  seemed 
to  me,  however,  at  the  very  start,  on  looking  over  the 
whole  field,  that  he  would  be  our  strongest  candidate 
against  General  Butler ;  but  I  felt  that,  in  view  of  the 
serious  contest  before  us,  the  candidate  should  be  se- 
lected by  the  well-considered  opinion  of  the  party,  and 
that  it  was  not  the  time  for  any  interference  in  regard 
to  the  nomination  by  the  State  Committee.  I  w\as, 
therefore,  very  careful  to  say  nothing  whatever  as  to 
my  own  views  as  to  candidates.  As  time  went  on, 
several  distinguished  Republicans  were  suggested  for 
the  nomination ;  but  in  each  case  a  refusal  to  run  fol- 


i 


19 

lowed.  Finally,  party  opinion  settled  down  en  Mr. 
Henry  L.  Pierce;  and,  as  the  date  fixed  for  the  con- 
vention approached,  it  was  clear  that  he  would  be 
nominated  with  practical  unanimity.  That  this  would 
be  the  result  of  the  convention  was  generally  under- 
stood, and  was  accepted  on  all  sides. 

On  the  day  before  the  convention  Mr.  Pierce  sent  for 
me,  and  told  me  that  he  could  not  be  a  candidate.  His 
sudden  withdrawal  at  the  last  moment  was  a  very  seri- 
ous matter,  when  the  all-important  question  of  the 
nomination  was  thought  to  have  been  conclusively 
settled.  It  threatened  to  throw  everything  into  con- 
fusion, and  start  us  most  unfortunately  in  the  severe 
struggle  which  we  knew  was  at  hand.  I  remember 
very  well  the  consternation  of  every  one  when  I  went 
back  to  the  rooms  of  the  State  Committee,  and  stated 
officially  that  Mr.  Pierce  had  finally  withdrawn.  I  felt 
anxious  myself,  but  not  so  much  disturbed  as  the 
others ;  for  I  knew  Governor  Robinson  was  coming  to 
town,  and  I  meant  to  appeal  to  him  to  step  into  the 
gap  and  take  the  nomination.  I  met  him  that  day 
at  the  ofiice  of  his  brother,  Charles  Robinson,  in  the 
Roeers  Buildinsf.  Our  interview  is  one  of  the  incidents 
of  my  life  w^hich  I  most  vividly  remember.  After  we 
had  shaken  hands,  I  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  Robinson,  ]\Ir. 
Pierce  has  withdrawn,  and  you  must  take  the  nomina- 
tion." He  looked  at  me  with  his  head  up  in  the  confi- 
dent manner  so  characteristic  of  him,  and  with  which 
I  became  afterward  so  familiar,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Lodge, 
I  have  not  sought  the  governorship;  but,  if  the  party 


20 

wants  me  and  needs  me,  I  will  stand."  I  shall  never 
foreet  the  relief  which  I  felt,  and  the  confidence  with 
which  his  answer,  coming  as  it  did  in  the  midst  of 
refusals  and  hesitations,  inspired  me. 

He  was  nominated  the  next  day,  practically  without 
opposition ;  and  his  short  speech  of  acceptance  gave  to 
the  convention  the  same  feeling  of  confidence  which 
he  had  already  given  to  me.  When  he  looked  the 
delegates,  as  he  did  every  one,  squarely  in  the  face, 
and  said,  "  It  is  your  duty  to  command :  I  count  it 
mine  to  obey,"  a  sense  of  relief  filled  the  convention. 
After  the  days  of  doubt,  hesitation,  and  alarm  the 
strong  man,  the  man  able  and  willing  to  lead,  had 
come ;  and  every  one  recognized  it.  As  we  walked 
away  together  after  the  convention,  he  said  to  me : 
"  We  have  a  hard  fight  before  us,  and  you  and  I  are 
to  be  thrown  together  very  closely.  I  want  you  to  be 
perfectly  frank  with  me  about  everything,  and  to  call 
upon  me  unhesitatingly  for  all  I  can  do.  I  am  a  poor 
man,  and  have  no  money  to  put  into  the  campaign ; 
but  my  time  and  strength  are  at  the  service  of  the 
party."  Every  one  knows  how  he  kept  his  word ;  but 
no  one  can  appreciate  it,  I  think,  quite  so  fully  as  I 
do.  The  relations  between  the  chairman  of  a  State 
committee  and  his  candidate  are  not  always  very  easy. 
The  chairman,  working  for  party  victory,  is  obliged  to 
press  the  candidate  pretty  hard,  and  sometimes  almost 
unreasonably;  but  in  that  campaign  the  candidate  met 
every  demand  upon  him,  not  only  willingly,  but  gladly. 

Governor   Robinson   shrank   from   no   effort   and   no 


21 

fatigue.  He  made  during  the  campaign,  as  I  remem- 
ber, some  seventy-three  speeches.  I  think  he  made 
nine  on  the  last  day;  and  he  never  failed  in  the  force, 
variety,  and  freshness  of  what  he  said.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Lincoln  and  Douglas  debate,  I  do  not 
believe  that  Governor  Robinson's  campaign  against 
General  Butler  has  ever  been  surpassed  in  a  debate 
before  the  people.  It  was  a  close,  hard  fight;  and 
I  have  never  questioned  that  it  was  his  commanding 
leadership  which  turned  the  scale.  He  never  lost  his 
temper,  his  good  sense  never  failed.  He  followed  his 
antagonist  relentlessly,  and  without  a  syllable  of  per- 
sonal abuse  struck  blow  after  blow,  and  never  left  an 
argument  unanswered  or  a  position  unassailed.  The 
confidence  and  enthusiasm  which  he  inspired  grew 
and  strengthened  with  each  day  and  with  every  speech ; 
and,  when  it  was  all  over  and  the  polls  had  closed, 
he  received  the  news  of  his  victory  with  the  same 
calm  cheerfulness  with  which  he  had  faced  the  heady 
currents  of  the  fight. 

After  his  brilliant  and  successful  campaign  for  the 
governorship,  he  went  to  Washington  in  December, 
1883,  to  participate  in  the  organization  of  the  Forty- 
eighth  Congress,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  the  year 
before.  On  the  2d  of  January  following  he  forwarded 
his  resignation  of  his  seat  in  Congress  to  Governor 
Butler.  The  Governor's  reply  was  characteristic : 
"Your  resignation  of  your  office  of  representative  in 
the  Forty-eighth  Congress  of  the  United  States  from 
the  Twelfth  District  of  Massachusetts,  tendered  to  the 


22 

Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  this  morning,  is  hereby 
accepted,  the  reason  prompting  the  same  being  so  en- 
tirely satisfactory  to  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
State." 

Thus  he  passed  from  the  parliamentary  field,  for 
which  he  was  so  peculiarly  fitted,  and  where  he  had  won 
so  much  success,  to  the  high  executive  office  of  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts.  He  was  twice  re-elected  with- 
out really  serious  opposition,  and  was  never  in  danger 
of  defeat.  To  the  important  business  of  administration 
he  brought  the  same  diligence,  ability,  thoroughness, 
and  conscientious  work  which  had  marked  his  whole 
career.  He  was  an  extremely  successful  governor.  He 
had  entire  courage,  and  never  hesitated  to  stop  a  meas- 
ure with  his  veto  if  he  thought  it  wrong,  no  matter  how 
strong  the  popular  feeling  in  its  favor  appeared  to  be. 
He  devoted  to  the  endless  details  of  executive  business 
the  same  attention,  thought,  and  ability  which  he  used 
to  give  to  an  exciting  debate  in  the  national  House, 
when  he  was  speaking  and  voting  with  the  eyes  of  the 
country  upon  him.  He  came  up  to  the  high  standard 
which  the  State  demands  of  her  governors,  and  at  the 
close  of  his  last  term  he  commanded  the  approval  of  all 
the  people  to  a  degree  which  is  rarely  witnessed.  The 
State  was  proud  of  him,  the  people  admired  him ;  but 
the  feeling  which  he  inspired  above  all  others  was  com- 
plete confidence  in  his  ability,  courage,  and  strength. 

When  he  left  the  governorship,  he  returned  to  private 
life  and  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  liked  the 
work  of  public  life,  as  every  strong  man  likes  to  do  that 


23 

which  he  knows  he  does  well ;  but  Governor  Robinson 
felt  that  his  duty  to  his  family  required  him  to  abandon 
politics,  although  he  might  have  had  anything  the  State 
could  give,  and  address  himself  to  labors  which  would 
make  provision  for  the  future  and  for  those  dearest  to 
him.  There  were  no  repinings  and  no  rejoicings.  He 
went  out  of  public  life,  leaving  behind  him  all  its  attrac- 
tion and  all  its  drawbacks,  with  the  same  philosophic 
cheerfulness  with  which  he  had  accepted  his  first  nomi- 
nation for  governor  and  heard  the  news  of  his  great 
victory  flashed  over  the  wires  to  Chicopee.  Once  out 
of  politics,  he  cast  no  backward  looks,  but  gave  his 
whole  strength  to  his  profession,  although  he  would 
always  come  forward  in  the  campaigns  and  help  his 
party  with  a  speech,  when  the  fight  was  hottest  and 
his  aid  most  needed. 

Of  his  success  at  the  bar  after  his  return  to  it  there 
is  no  need  to  speak.  It  is  still  fresh  in  every  one's 
mind.  Thus  busily  engaged,  nine  years  v/ent  by ;  and 
then  he  was  suddenly  stricken  down.  He  was  so 
strong,  so  temperate,  so  vigorous  in  all  ways,  that  the 
idea  of  illness  seemed  utterly  remote  from  him.  We 
all,  I  think,  regarded  him  as  the  man,  above  all  others, 
who  was  destined  to  a  long  life  and  to  a  strong  old  age, 
surpassing  even  that  of  his  long-lived  ancestry.  Death 
is  the  commonest  of  events ;  but  it  is  always  a  surprise, 
and  in  his  case  the  shock  was  especially  sudden  and 
severe.  The  blow  was  instant  and  decisive,  like  the 
strong  man  who  fell  beneath  it;  but  it  was  none  the 
less  hard  to  bear  for  the  people  of  this  Commonwealth, 


24 

who  had  looked  up  to  him,  followed  him,  honored  him. 
Still  in  his  prime,  in  the  vigor  of  his  manhood,  he  had 
been  reft  from  us;  and  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
mourned  beside  his  grave. 

So  the  story  of  the  life  and  the  career  ends  with 
the  sad  ending  of  all  our  little  human  histories.  It 
seems  to  me  a  very  fine  story,  even  when  told  as  im- 
perfectly and  incompletely  as  I  have  told  it  to  you. 
It  is  not  only  a  life  which  it  will  be  a  pride  to  his 
children  to  recall,  but  it  is  full  of  meaning  and  en- 
couragement to  us  all.  The  character  and  qualities 
of  the  man  himself  seem  to  me  to  shine  out  very 
brightly  through  the  brief  abstract  and  chronicle  of 
what  he  did  in  this  busy  world.  They  are  worth  con- 
sidering by  all  men  who  love  Massachusetts,  and  who 
are  inspired  with  eager,  earnest  hopes  for  the  destiny 
of  their  country  and  their  race. 

Note,  first,  that  he  was  a  strong  man  physically,  big, 
deep-chested,  able  to  withstand  toil  and  stress.  This 
is  a  point  which  is  too  often  overlooked ;  and  yet  it  is 
of  grave  importance,  for  the  puny  races  of  men  go  to 
the  wall.  Governor  Robinson  was  a  fine  proof  of  the 
fact  that  the  hardy  Englishmen  who  settled  here  had 
not  degenerated,  but  rather  had  waxed  stronger  in 
bone  and  muscle  and  sinews  in  their  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  American  life.  Mind  and  character 
matched  the  physical  attributes.  Strength  of  will  and 
vigor  of  mind  were  his  two  most  characteristic  qual- 
ities. He  was  exceedingly  temperate  in  all  ways,  a 
man    of   pure,  clean,  wholesome    life.     The    desires   of 


25 

the  senses  were  under  as  much  control  as  his  temper. 
He  was  always  cool,  and  his  judgment  was  never 
clouded  by  excitement.  The  stern  spirit  of  self-sacri- 
fice to  a  great  purpose,  which  brought  the  Puritans  to 
the  wilderness,  survived  in  him,  mellowed  no  doubt,  but 
just  as  effective  as  of  old  in  the  conditions  of  life 
which  he  was  called  to  meet.  He  had  deep  convic- 
tions on  all  questions ;  but  he  was  always  just,  tolerant, 
and  fair.  He  was  a  hard  worker,  one  who  never 
shirked  and  never  complained.  Rarely  have  I  met 
a  man  of  such  even  cheerfulness  under  all  circum- 
stances. The  words  which  Washington  used  about 
the  Constitution  often  came  to  my  mind  when  I 
watched  Governor  Robinson's  method  of  dealing  with 
public  affairs :  "  We  have  set  up  a  standard  to  which 
the  good  and  wise  may  repair:  the  event  is  in  the 
hands  of  God."  He  did  his  best  always,  and  never 
worried  before  nor  repined  after  the  event,  if  things 
went  ill,  nor  rejoiced  unduly,  if  they  went  well. 

He  made  his  greatest  reputation  as  a  debater  in 
Congress  and  before  the  people.  He  was  not  a  rheto- 
rician, and  never  tried  to  be.     When  Antony  says, 

*'  I  am  no  orator,  as  Rrutus  is ; 
But,  as  you  know  me  all,  a  plain,  blunt  man, 
That  love  my  friend. 
I  only  speak  right  on," 

we  recognize  the  artistic  self-depreciation  of  the  most 
consummate  orator  who  ever  lived,  if  he  spoke  as 
Shakspere    makes    him  speak.     But  what  Antony  said 


26 

for  effect  mis^ht  be  said  with  truth  of  Governor 
Robinson.  He  was  the  plain,  blunt  man  who  spoke 
right  on ;  and  he  was  a  master  of  this  most  difficult  and 
telling  kind  of  oratory.  He  was  no  phrase-maker,  no 
rounder  of  periods,  no  seeker  for  metaphors;  but  he 
was  one  of  the  most  effective  and  convincing  speakers, 
whether  to  Congress,  to  a  great  popular  audience,  or  to 
a  jury,  that  I  ever  listened  to.  The  very  way  in  which 
he  faced  an  audience,  with  his  head  up,  and  that  bold, 
confident,  but  never  arrogant  manner,  calmed  the  most 
hostile  and  roused  the  most  indifferent.  He  used 
simple  language  and  clear  sentences.  He  had  a  re- 
markable power  of  nervous,  lucid  statement, —  a  very 
great  gift.  His  arguments  were  keen  and  well  knit, 
and  illumined  by  a  strong  sense  of  humor  and  a  dry  wit 
which  was  very  delightful.  He  had,  above  all,  the  rare 
and  most  precious  faculty  of  making  his  hearers  feel 
that  he  was  putting  into  words  just  what  they  had 
always  thought,  but  had  never  been  able  to  express 
quite  so  well.  To  do  this  is  very  difficult.  It  does 
not  come  merely  by  nature.  The  most  famous  poet 
of  Queen  Anne's  day  thought  it  a  very  great  art;  for 
he  tells  us  that, 

"  True  wit  is  nature  to  advantage  dressed, 
What  oft  was  thought,  but  ne'er  so  well  expressed." 

Governor  Robinson  was,  in  one  word,  a  great  debater, 
—  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  of  his  generation ;  and, 
when  I  say  this,  it  implies  that  he  was  a  man  of  unusual 
powers  of  thought,  incisive,  quick,  and  of  great  mental 
resource. 


27 

But  his  remarkable  ability  as  a  speaker,  his  shrewd- 
ness and  justice  and  diligence  in  all  the  affairs  of  life, 
his  calm  temper  and  his  cheerful  philosophy,  while  they 
were  all  potent  factors  in  his  success  and  his  popularity, 
were  not  his  only  nor  his  highest  qualities.  It  is  a  very 
happy  thing  to  be  popular  and  successful ;  but  it  is 
a  much  nobler  thing  to  command  the  affectionate  and 
deep  confidence,  not  only  of  friends,  but  of  a  great 
community.  This  Governor  Robinson  did  in  a  high 
degree,  and  the  secret  lay  in  his  character.  People 
trusted  him,  not  because  he  was  a  brilliant  and  convinc- 
ing speaker,  of  whom  they  were  proud,  or  even  because 
he  was  a  faithful  and  admirable  chief  macristrate,  but 
because  they  knew  him  to  be  an  entirely  honest  and 
fearless  man.  They  saw  that  he  was  simple  in  his  life, 
thoroughly  democratic,  educated,  and  trained,  with  a 
mind  open  to  new  ideas,  and  yet  with  the  ingrained 
conservatism  and  the  reverence  for  law  and  order  which 
New  England  has  always  cherished;  and,  therefore,  they 
believed  in  him.  Instinctively,  the  people  turned  to 
him  as  the  strong  man  fit  for  leadership  and  command, 
who  would  never  waver  in  the  face  of  danger  and  never 
betray  a  trust. 

Is  not  our  question  as  to  the  result  of  the  Puritan 
civilization  answered  by  such  a  life  and  such  a  char- 
acter? The  old  qualities  are  all  there,  the  old  fighting 
qualities,  and  ever  with  them  the  mastering  sense  of 
duty  to  God,  to  country,  and  to  family.  They  have  not 
weakened  in  the  centuries  that  have  come  and  gone. 
They  have  broadened,  but  they  have  not  pined  or  faded. 


28 

They  have  not  been  refined  and  cultivated  to  nothing- 
ness; and,  when  you  strike  down  and  call  upon  the 
yeomanry  of  Massachusetts,  you  find  a  man  like  this  to 
stand  forward,  when  the  State  needs  him.  They  tell  us 
sometimes  that  our  people  are  too  much  like  the 
granite  of  our  hills.  So  be  it.  Strength  and  endur- 
ance, offering  an  unchanging  face  to  storm  and  sun- 
shine alike,  are  the  qualities  of  granite  and  the  foun- 
dations also  on  which  a  race  can  build  a  great  present 
and  a  mighty  future.  But  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that, 
if  the  outside  of  the  granite  cliff  is  somewhat  stern 
and  gray,  when  you  pierce  its  heart,  you  find  running 
across  it  the  rich  warm  veins  of  color  gathered  there 
through  dim  ages  in  which  contending  forces  moulded 
the  earth  forms  we  now  see  about  us.  Again,  I  say 
we  have  done  well  to  meet  together  in  memory  of 
such  a  man.  He  has  earned  our  praise  and  our  grat- 
itude, not  only  for  what  he  did  and  for  the  high  titles 
he  wore  so  well,  but  for  what  he  was.  In  his  life  he 
was  respected,  honored,  loved,  and  trusted.  At  his 
death  the  State,  over  which  he  had  once  been  set, 
bowed  her  head  in  grief.  But  across  the  darkness  of 
the  sorrow  comes  the  light  which  such  a  life  sheds; 
for  we  may  take  to  our  hearts  the  lesson  it  brings, — 
that  all  is  well  with  state  and  country  while  they  breed 
such  men  as  this. 


The  audience  having  joined  in  singing  "America,"  the  Rev. 
Charles  F.  Carter  brought  the  proceedings  to  a  close  by  pro- 
nouncing the  benediction. 


3  1205  02528  5790 


UC  SOUTHERN  RE,- 

"1  " 

O"  000  974  214 


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